UConn’s mystique lies not in results, but how it gets them

Alex Karaban (11) leads cheers from bench as UConn locked down San Diego State after halftime to advance to Elite 8. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

BOSTON — At this point, nothing about the University of Connecticut and how it has gone about its business on the floor should come as any surprise to anyone.

Now three wins away from successfully defending its national championship, the only mystery surrounding UConn on any given night is not the final result, but rather one of what it will do and how it will attack to get there.

Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Stetson was the expected big win over a No. 16 seed. Sunday’s follow-up against Northwestern was defined more by how the Huskies masked an uncharacteristic lackluster shooting night with its power. Thursday’s Sweet 16 romp over San Diego State showcased the relentlessness on the glass by a UConn team that amassed 50 rebounds, 21 of which came on the offensive glass.

“We have killer instincts,” Dan Hurley said after his Huskies turned an intense first half into an 82-52 drubbing of the same Aztec squad it defeated a year ago in Houston for UConn’s fifth national title. “We play every possession with great desperation. We just have people that are just desperate to win more. We have winners. We have ‘we’ guys.”

“These guys right now are leaving a legacy in a place that’s hard to leave a legacy. It’s been a historical season in a tough place to make history. They’re galvanized by that. It’s special.”

What also was special was UConn’s defensive effort after a first half in which San Diego State was unfazed by the opponent standing in its way, leading on several brief occasions early before the Huskies gained the initiative for good. Only ahead by a 40-31 count at the intermission, Hurley adjusted and doubled down on Aztec big man Jaedon LeDee, using the size of Donovan Clingan and Samson Johnson to shut him down. LeDee was held to just three points over the final 20 minutes after the fifth-year senior was the best player on the floor for either side, recording 15 markers in the opening stanza.

“Donovan made it hard on him,” Hurley reflected. “Samson made it hard on him. Guys who were helping off the right people on the perimeter just showed them a lot of bodies and played much better one-on-one defense.”

“We’re a top 10 defensive team as well, so again, that’s the best way to keep yourself from being vulnerable in this tournament, by guarding at a high level. We’re very comfortable in tournament play. We’re hard to prepare for.”

UConn’s last nine NCAA Tournament games — the six from last year’s title run and three within the past seven days — have been won by a margin of nearly 23 points. That average is higher than North Carolina’s 2008-09 and Villanova’s 2017-18 championship units, which won their tournament games by averages of 20 and almost 18 points, respectively. Those Tar Heel and Wildcat squads are also widely considered to be two of the best teams in the sport this century.

When asked if he had a hard time believing the mathematical dominance, Hurley lightened the mood somewhat before declaring the level on which his program operates.

“We suck at winning close games,” he quipped, “so you gotta go with the alternative.”

“I don’t think we feel tremendous pressure going into these round of 32 or Sweet 16 games. I know as a staff, we don’t, because we feel like the position that we’re in right now is going to be our level and that we’re going to be able to maintain it because we’ve got the formula. This team has defied what past champions have done, and taken this program to a completely different level. This is just where our program is at right now. This is where our program is going to be.”